Memorial University's Board of Regents votes Thursday on whether to raise fees for international and graduate students.

As the board convenes for its afternoon meeting, students are set to rally outside with a demand to stop any fee hikes.

The university is proposing a 30 per cent tuition increase for international and graduate students, as well as a hike in residence fees.

Any increases would not take effect until September 2016.

Hundreds of students gathered in a lecture hall at MUN in May to express concern with proposed tuition increases. (CBC)

The changes comes on the heels of the Newfoundland and Labrador budget, when the Tory government slashed more than $20 million from the university's operating fund.

Student groups have spent the past two months demanding that tuition fees remain frozen for everyone. The Canadian Federation of Students said that hiking fees will hurt enrolment and damage efforts to increase immigration.

Although many students have voiced their concerns through petitions and town halls, MUN's administration has not changed its position. The provincial government has said that increasing tuition is ultimately MUN's decision.

So as some students wait with bated breath, here's everything you need to know about the tuition situation at Memorial University.

Who will be affected?

International students

There has been a large focus on how international students will be impacted by the fee hikes, a group that makes up 11 per cent of MUN's student body. Many say that cheap tuition is the only reason they came to MUN, and that raising fees might mean they'll have to leave the province.

International students at MUN pay more than triple the tuition of a Canadian student. While a domestic student pays $2,550 for a year of school, an international student pays $8,800. That doesn't include accommodation, books and supplies, or travel costs.

Tamanna Khan is an international student from Bangledesh (CBC)

If fees go up, tuition will be an average of $11,710.

MUN administration have maintained that MUN's international students pay some of the cheapest tuition in the country. Even with the hikes, the university says these students will still pay "radically" lower costs than the rest of Canada. So how does MUN stack up to the rest of the country?

Average international tuition at other universities:

Dalhousie University: $16,000-$17,000

St. Francis Xavier University: $6,985

University of Toronto: $38,000

University of Ottawa: $22,000

University of British Columbia: $26,000-$31,000

2. Graduate students

There are around 3,500 graduate students at Memorial University. (Michaela Rehle/Reuters)

Grad students make up around 20 per cent of the student body and in recent years, MUN has been actively pushing to increase graduate student enrolment.

Depending on their program, grad students pay an average of $2,506—some of the lowest tuition in Canada.

After a 30 per cent increase, domestic graduate students would pay an average of $3,258. International grad students would pay an average of $3,702.

3. Students living in residence

MUN is also proposing a 30 per cent fee increase for students living in residence, which would raise the costs of residence by around $1,000.

MUN's Board of Regents is voting on increasing residence fees by 30 per cent. (CBC)

Student leaders and member of the NDP have said that these fee hikes would unfairly target students from rural areas in the province.

MUN students currently pay between $2,774 to $3,644 for a year in residence.

Who is next?

International students may not be the only ones under fire. During a recent CBC debate, Liberal Leader Dwight Ball said that he would consider increasing tuition for out-of-province students, while keeping the tuition freeze for students from Newfoundland and Labrador.

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